Pumping the Trail with Darren Butler

Words by Cam McRae

The first time I rode Bobsled - the recently sculpted A Line style trail on Fromme - with Darren Butler, it was a game changer. I'd been riding it like any other trail; pedalling where I could to try and keep my speed up, but Darren suggested we ride it chainless-style. In order to make this work you need to pump and take advantage of every roller and berm and preserve as much speed as possible. Now I only ride it this way (although I take a few pedal strokes before the first berm) and it's more fun than ever.

Staying off the gas makes every trip down an opportunity to buff your skills and it's a challenge to make it all the way through without pedalling.


Darren Butler and Ruben Salzgaber from Endless Biking take you down Fromme's Bobsled while giving you tips to pump the trail. They show you how to get a whole lot more out of your ride with a little something called pressure control--the idea of weighting and unweighting the bike.

Watch as the boys not only explain but lead by example as they make sick work of Bobsled.



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